PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Junior Lessard (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Rolf Thorkildsen (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Lessard kept the crowd waiting but all that was forgotten when his ring entrance music started. The incomparable musical genius that is Ozzy Osbourne - Mr Crowley. Thorkildsen is bouncing up and down as he enters the arena, backed by AC/DC - Hell's Bells. These two fighters really are very evenly matched on the feet - it will be fascinating to see who can assert themselves in that aspect of the fight.

Lessard
vs
Thorkildsen

175 cm
23
163 lbs
13 - 2 - 0

176 cm
26
165 lbs
13 - 6 - 0

Good wrestling
Lethal high kicks
Cardio machine

Good wrestler
Excellent MT
Heavy handed

Crashforce Nutrition
Asphyxiation Ltd. (CBK)

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the lightweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 13 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Junior Lessard!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 13 - 6 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Rolf Thorkildsen!
The judges for this bout are Arvi Lind, Anni Minnemäki and Tarja Halkonen.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Lessard throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Thorkildsen misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Lessard.
Lessard dances in quickly and lands a nice inside leg kick on Thorkildsen. That did some damage!
Thorkildsen keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Lessard punishes Thorkildsen's body with a nice straight punch.
Lessard jabs at Thorkildsen's body.
Lessard tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Thorkildsen loads up on a big right hand but Lessard slips the punch.
Lessard on the wrong end of a vicious looking body shot.
Lessard throws a body kick but he wasn't in range.
Thorkildsen thows a left - swing and a miss!
Thorkildsen with a jab.
Lessard steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Thorkildsen.
Lessard misses with a low kick.
Lessard thows a left - swing and a miss!

That's one minute gone in the round.
Thorkildsen misses with a body shot
and Lessard counters with a good, hard body kick but Thorkildsen shrugs it off.
Thorkildsen jabs Lessard to the body, keeping him at a distance.
Lessard uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Thorkildsen.
Thorkildsen throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Lessard sees it coming and avoids it easily.
Thorkildsen looks to land a right hand but Lessard moved out of range.
Left hook, right uppercut from Lessard.
Lessard cracks Thorkildsen with a good shot that sees him stumbling back into the cage.
Lessard connects with a leg kick. He turned his hip over nicely there.
Lessard tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Thorkildsen was well out of range. Poor timing from Lessard.
Lessard ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
Lessard throws a shot from downtown. Thorkildsen moves away and avoids it.
Thorkildsen gets cracked with a nice right hand there by Lessard.
Lessard listening to his corner there, landing a nice uppercut.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Lessard keeps his opponent at a distance with a nice jab.
Lessard misses with a low kick.
Thorkildsen shoots in for a takedown but Lessard shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.
Thorkildsen dodges the punch combination from Lessard.
Lessard throws a low kick but Thorkildsen moves out of range easily.
Lessard throws a feint and then finishes with a kick to the body.
Lessard throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Thorkildsen sees it coming and avoids it easily.
Lessard misses with a body punch
and Thorkildsen counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
Nice uppercut there from Lessard.
Lessard scores with a shot to the body.
Junior Lessard is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
The fans in attendance giving it up for the two fighters, who have really let it all hang out in the last minute or so!
Lessard feints and then cracks Thorkildsen's leading leg with a nice low kick. He's obviously looking to slow Thorkildsen down.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Thorkildsen throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
Lessard throws a leg kick but Thorkildsen sees it coming and checks it nicely.
Lessard is looking to land body kicks.
Thorkildsen moves forwards but Lessard connects with a nice, crisp jab.
Lessard is looking to slow Thorkildsen down with leg kicks.
Lessard thows a left - swing and a miss!
Thorkildsen moves out of range of the strikes.
Lessard throws a half hearted mid kick.
Thorkildsen throws out a leg kick but Lessard moves out of range and Thorkildsen only half commits.
Lessard connects nicely with a jab. Noted by the judges no doubt.
Lessard misses with a wild body shot.
Thorkildsen checks a leg kick nicely.
Lessard ducks right into an uppercut from Thorkildsen.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Lessard lands a vicious shot with the stealth of a sniper and the strength of a viper. Are vipers that strong? I can think of lots of things that are stronger than a viper - not many rhyme with sniper though.
Decent striking displayed by Lessard there.
Lessard throws a low kick but his opponent is out of range.
Lessard throws a big shot that misses.
Thorkildsen slips under a jab from Lessard.
Thorkildsen waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Lessard.
Lessard misses with a hook.
Thorkildsen uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Lessard.
Lessard moves out of range as Thorkildsen strikes.
Thorkildsen throws a hook to the side of Lessard's head but Lessard sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
Lessard is really peppering his opponent's head with punches.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Lessard lands a leg kick and bounces back out of range.
Thorkildsen fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Lessard manages to avoid it.
Lessard bobbing and weaving, closes the distance and lands a hook to the side of Thorkildsen's head.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Junior Lessard dominated that round.
That's the end of the interval. I'm sure that seemed a lot quicker than a minute for our two fighters! Back to the action.

Thorkildsen throws a left and a right that both miss
and Lessard counters with a thumping low kick.
A right-left combo lands from Lessard.

It looks like Rolf Thorkildsen has been cut.
Lessard with a body punch. A glancing blow.
Lessard fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
A slow jab from Thorkildsen misses its intended target.
Thorkildsen swings for the body but Lessard moves out of range.
Lessard lands a beauty of a right hand that gets the crowd cheering.
Lessard throws a leg kick which misses Thorkildsen's front leg but catches the back leg as Thorkildsen tries to avoid it.
Lessard misses with a straight left.
Thorkildsen has a nice red mark on his side after a thudding body kick by Lessard.
Lessard scores with a spinning back kick!
Thorkildsen throws a hook but Lessard blocks it.
Lessard avoids the body shot from Thorkildsen.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Lessard thumps Thorkildsen with a low kick.
A big left from Lessard misses.
Lessard misses with a wild combination.
Thorkildsen takes a jab on the nose. He smiles like he loves it and keeps coming.
Thorkildsen on the receiving end of a decent leg kick there by Lessard. Lessard obviously looking to wear him down.
Thorkildsen's leg has a nasty welt from taking a succession of leg kicks. That must be slowing him down.
Nice body kick from Lessard.
Thorkildsen is breathing heavily.
Lessard goes to the watering hole and comes back with a big thumbs up from the judges as he scores a three punch combo.
A decent looking cross lands there for Lessard.
Lessard fakes a couple of low kicks, before throwing one on the third attempt. It connects and Thorkildsen has to reset his feet before getting ready to engage.
Lessard fakes a head punch and goes low to the body. Nicely done.
Lessard moves into range and connects with a jab.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Lessard throws a head kick that misses
and Thorkildsen counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A slapping leg kick lands for Lessard.
Thorkildsen tries to check the leg kick but that clearly hurt him.
Thorkildsen on the wrong end of a nice low kick. He's acting like it's no big deal but he doesn't want to take many more of those.
Thorkildsen misses with an uppercut.
A good leg kick by Lessard.
Lessard's jab looks to have found its range, popping Thorkildsen under the eye.
Thorkildsen throws a jab, cross combination which is slipped
and Lessard counters with a shot to the ribs. That looked like it hurt.
Lessard buckles his opponent's knee momentarily with a nice leg kick.
A nice leg kick lands there from Lessard.
Thorkildsen takes a kick to the side of the head.
Lessard with a nice looking leg kick. You could hear that one land in a back row.
Good leg kick by Lessard there. It's the ones that make that thud noise that hurt and that was an almighty thud.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Thorkildsen's hands are dropping dangerously low here and Lessard connects clean with a right hook that sends him down to one knee! Thorkildsen scrambles back to his feet.
Thorkildsen takes a shot to the nose. Hopefully that hasn't broken it.
Lessard scores with a nice one two combo and darts back out of range to avoid anything coming in the opposite direction.
Thorkildsen has his head slapped from side to side by a 3 punch combination. That must have hurt him.
Lessard throws a mid kick that lands with a slap.
Thorkildsen has a pretty nasty looking mouse under his right eye.
An inside leg kick lands from Lessard.
Thorkildsen misses the body punch
and Lessard counters with a nice body kick.
Lessard throws a sloppy head kick and Thorkildsen moves out of range easily.
Lessard shuffles to his left behind two crisp jabs. Thorkildsen eats them both and turns towards Lessard to reposition himself and eats a stinging right hand-left hook combo.
Lessard tests Thorkildsen's chin there with a solid looking shot.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Like a baseball bat into the meat of his leg there - nice leg kick by Lessard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Lessard fakes a couple of low kicks, before throwing one on the third attempt. It connects and Thorkildsen has to reset his feet before getting ready to engage.
Thorkildsen dodges the punch combination from Lessard.
Thorkildsen takes an uppercut right on the jaw but it doesn't phase him.
Nice cross by Lessard.
Lessard throws a front kick that sends Thorkildsen stumbling back into the cage.
Thorkildsen closes the distance and clinches up with Lessard, looking for a takedown. Thorkildsen pushes Lessard against the cage but Lessard circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.
A solid leg kick lands there for Lessard.
Thorkildsen has developed a nice purple lump on his ribcage, as a result of some heavy body kicks from Lessard.
Lessard lands a slapping body shot.
Both these guys seem content to just stand up and trade with eachother but Thorkildsen might want to think about changing up his gameplan a bit because over the course of the fight, Lessard has got the better of the exchanges.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Left hook, right uppercut from Lessard.
Lessard moves into range and connects with a jab.
Lessard connects with a leg kick. He turned his hip over nicely there.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Junior Lessard dominated that second round.
The cut man is working on Rolf Thorkildsen's cut.
That's the end of the interval. I'm sure that seemed a lot quicker than a minute for our two fighters! Back to the action. So, we enter the final round. Let's see if either fighter can bring us a finish, or whether we're going to the judges scorecards.

Lessard smiles there as he lands a nice right hand right on the button.
Lessard looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
Lessard throws a series of punches but Thorkildsen moves out of range.
Lessard fakes low and throws an overhand right that catches Thorkildsen on the side of the head.
Lessard scores with a leg kick.
Lessard works over Thorkildsen's head and body with a nice combination.
Lessard connects with a solid leg kick.
Lessard throws a shot to the body.
Lessard tries a head kick but it misses.
Lessard is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Thorkildsen can do to turn this around?
Thorkildsen takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Lessard lands three nice shots there - that looked like it hurt!
Lessard lands a right hook to the body.
Thorkildsen keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Lessard misses with an uppercut.
Lessard catches Thorkildsen with a nice straight right. He seems pissed - ooooh, it's on now! On like donkey kong!
Lessard stooping low to avoid any incoming strikes and then lunges in with an uppercut come cross that lands flush.
Lessard fakes with a right hand and throws a good leg kick, right into the thigh. That had to hurt Thorkildsen.
Lessard misses with a wild body shot.
Thorkildsen takes a jab on the nose. He smiles like he loves it and keeps coming.
Junior Lessard is winning the standup battle so far.
Thorkildsen checks the leg kick.
Lessard tries to land a leg kick but Thorkildsen saw it coming and moves away.
Lessard with a nice looking leg kick. You could hear that one land in a back row.
A slapping leg kick lands for Lessard.
Thorkildsen misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Lessard throws a feint and then finishes with a kick to the body.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Lessard throws a series of punches but Thorkildsen avoids them all with ease.
Lessard lands a nice looking body kick.
Thorkildsen tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Lessard was well out of range. Poor timing from Thorkildsen.
Thorkildsen on the wrong end of a nice low kick. He's acting like it's no big deal but he doesn't want to take many more of those.
Thorkildsen takes a kick to the body and keeps moving.
Lessard misses the shot to the body.
Junior Lessard seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Lessard scoring well with a low kick there.
Lessard lands a head kick!
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Lessard connects with a solid leg kick.
Lessard throws a body kick that digs right into the meat.
Nice body kick there by Lessard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Lessard throws a sloppy head kick

and Thorkildsen counters with a shoot takedown. Lessard fights it but they end up in guard.
Rolf Thorkildsen has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Thorkildsen postures up in Lessard's guard and throws a big left but Lessard blocks it.
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Lessard seems keen to control rather than go for a submission, at least for now.
Lessard looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Junior Lessard is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Thorkildsen throwing strikes from guard but Lessard blocks nicely.
There's a bit of a scramble here and now Lessard is on top in guard.
Lessard looking to pass the guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Thorkildsen has his foot on Lessard's thigh. He's trying to push off and get in position for a triangle, I think. Lessard works his way back into a safe position though.
Thorkildsen has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.
Lessard wants to pass the guard but Thorkildsen is keeping the position.
Thorkildsen is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Lessard's corner is telling him to maintain position.
Thorkildsen wants to sweep but no luck.

Lessard avoids a guillotine attempt easily.
Thorkildsen keeping moving, preventing Lessard from controlling successfully.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
The referee looks like he's ready to step in and stand the fighters back up.
Lessard's corner is telling him to maintain position.

And that's the end of the fight!
Junior Lessard showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Lessard, winning every round. Will the judges agree? They are the ones who matter, even if they are often depressingly incompetent. Over to the ring announcer for the scorecards.

Ladies and gentlemen, after 3 rounds of action, we go to the scorecards for a decision.
Judge Arvi Lind scores the fight 30:26
Judge Anni Minnemäki scores the fight 30:26
Judge Tarja Halkonen scores the fight 30:26

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Junior Lessard!